Daughter of a Werewolf
by Remus's Boggart
Summary: "I want to create a cure, for my father. I want to have a month without having to worry about if I'm ever going to see my father again" - Artemis Lupin. Artemis Lupin has set her eyes on the future, finding a cure for her father's lycanthropy. But first she must get through seven years of schooling, facing prejudice, unfair teachers, old grudges that are coming up and the threa
1. Chapter 1

**Chapter One:**

"You'll be fine, Artemis, I promise you" Remus Lupin said as he wrapped his arms around his eleven year old daughter, Artemis Lupin. It was her first year at Hogwarts and she was terrified. "Once you go, you'll never want to leave" He added. Artemis lifted her head from his father's shoulders.

"I will always want to come home" She said. "I will be coming home for Christmas right?" She asked.

"Of course, and maybe you'll want to invite someone over, who knows. Be good Artemis, well as good as you can be, you're the daughter of a marauder after all" He said. Artemis smiled and took a step back, towards the bright, Scarlett red train, which would take her to Hogwarts.

"I'll miss you" She said.

"I'll miss you to" He said. "And Chipper" He added as an afterthought to his daughter's pet Owl. "Remember, the Marauders rules of life and to see if you can find Harry. Don't worry about the Houses" He said. Artemis nodded before taking another step back.

"I'll remember and I'll write every week. I promise. I love you dad" She said.

"I love you to cub" He replied. "Now get on the train, before it leaves without you" Artemis smiled before turning and walking over to the train. She hopped on and turned looking out of the door. It was nearing eleven o'clock now and more people were moving towards the door. She moved away from the door and down the corridor, peering into each compartment looking for someone to sit with. She was nearly at the end of the train when she found a compartment with a black haired boy inside. She stepped in.

"Hello, do you mind if I sit here?" She asked. The boy shook his head. "I'm Artemis, Artemis Lupin."

"Harry, Harry Potter" He said. Artemis eyes lit up.

"Oh I hoped I'd find you. You see my father and your father were best friends and he heard that you were coming to Hogwarts this year. He wanted me to look out for you" She said.

"Really" Harry said, he smiled as he realized that he would have someone to tell him about his parents.

"Yep, there were four of them, Remus Lupin, my father, James Potter, your father, Peter Pettigrew and, Sirius Black. I know a lot about them, apart from Black, father doesn't like to speak of him. They were called the Marauders" She said. "Um…Harry, I should warn you about something. The Marauders were pranksters, they loved making people laugh, only some could see them as…" She stopped trying to think of the right word.

"Bullies?" Harry offered, hoping that he was wrong.

"Yeah, I don't want to put our fathers down or anything, but they targeted one boy, Severus Snape. He's the potions master at Hogwarts. Father warned me that he might be unfair towards us, because of his past" She said.

"Oh" Harry said.

"But, James Potter was a good man, he loved you and he grew up a lot when he married your mother. He was head over heels in love with her" She said with a smile.

"Did your father know my mother?" Harry asked.

"Yes, they were prefects together and head boy and girl. Father said that Lily was brilliant, very talented at magic, especially Potions. She had the talent for seeing the best in others, even when they couldn't see it themselves." She said with a smile. "I want to be like her, and be Head Girl someday" She added.

"What about your mother?" He asked.

"Opal Lupin, was a year younger, but was best friends with Lily; I think she was named your godmother"

"Why wasn't I given to her then instead of my Aunt and Uncle?" Harry asked.

"She died, a month before the attack on your parents. Are your Aunt and Uncle horrible then?" She asked. Harry nodded.

"Oh… Harry, I'm so sorry. If we had known we would have taken you in, but with my father's condition. He didn't want to put that weight on your shoulders as well" She said reaching over and pulling him in for a hug. Harry stiffened, before relaxing and hugging the girl back. She smiled as she reached over to her bag. "I've got some reading to do; Father wants me to be prepared for Hogwarts. Do you mind? You can read one to if you like?" She offered.

"I don't mind, what books have you got?" He asked.

"The Standard Book of Spells, Magical Theory, Magical Drafts and Potions and The Railway Children" She said.

"Can I read Drafts and Potions, if you say Professor Snape might be unfair, and then it would be better to read about Potions and get some knowledge?"

"Of course" She said, pulling out two very tattered books. "They were my father's beforehand, so they have notes written by him and your mother, they did a lot of research together" She said as she handed over one of them. Harry took the book and looked at the other one; it was the Standard Book of Spells. They opened their books and stared to read.

Around half past twelve there was a great clattering outside in the corridors and a smiling, dimpled woman slid back their door and asked.

"Anything off the cart, dears?" Artemis shook her head and pulled out a plastic box from her bag, inside it held two sandwiches, an apple and three cookies. Harry jumped to his feet, he hadn't eaten any breakfast. He never had money for candy with the Dursleys and now he had a pocket fill of gold and silver he was ready to buy as many sweets as he could. Harry was stumped; the cart didn't offer any muggle sweets.

"Um…Artemis, could you help me. I'm not sure what anything is?" He said.

"Neither do I, I'm as stumped as you are" She said, stand up next to him. "Just pick out a few you like the sound of" She said. Harry turned back and decided that the best thing was the buy some of everything and then if he didn't like it, he would know next year. He smiled as he came back into the compartment with the goodies. He placed them on the seat beside him and picked out a box. He looked across at Artemis, who had finished one of her sandwiches.

"Would you like some?" He asked. Harry had never had anything to share or anyone to share with, and as Artemis nodded and reached across, taking a Pumpkin Pasty, he found it was a nice feeling.

"Here, have a cookie" She said. "It's only fair" She added as she chucked a cookie at him. As they ate their food, Harry picked up a box, Bertie Bott's Every Flavour Beans.

"You want to be careful with those" said a voice, Harry and Artemis looked up towards the door to see a red haired boy standing in the door way. Harry recognized him as the youngest red head from the family that helped him through the Platforms. "When they say every flavour they mean, every flavour, I'm Ron, Ron Weasley, you are?" He asked.

"I'm Harry, this is Artemis Lupin" Harry said. "Do you want to sit down? What flavours does the bean have?" He asked.

"Every flavour, you have the normal ones, like chocolate, peppermint and marmalade, but then you can get spinach, liver and tripe. George reckons he had a booger flavoured one once." Ron explained. Harry held out the packet and Ron picked out a green one, he looked at it carefully and bit into a corner. "Yuck! Sprouts" They had a good time after that, eating the beans, Harry got toast, coconut, baked bean, strawberry, curry, grass, coffee and sardine. Artemis got blueberry, Toffee, Pepper, Salt, Hard-boiled egg, ginger and olive. The countryside now flying past the window was becoming wilder. The neat fields had gone. Now there were woods, twisting rivers and dark green hills. There was a knock on the door of the compartment and a round faced tubby boy came in, his eyes were red and he looked like he had been crying.

"Sorry" He said, "But have you seen a toad at all?" When the three eleven year olds shook their heads he wailed. "I've lost him! He keeps getting away from me!"

"He'll turn up" Harry said.

"Yes," said the boy miserably. "Well, if you see him..." He left.

"Don't know why he's so bothered," said Ron. "If I'd brought a toad I'd lose it as quick as I could. Mind you, I brought Scabbers, so I can't talk." He pulled out a snoozing rat and placed him on his lap. "I tried to turn him yellow yesterday to make him more interesting, but the spell didn't work. I'll show you, look…" Ron pulled out a wand from his other pocket, it was chipped in places and something white was glinting at the end. "Unicorn hair's nearly poking out, anyway…" He had just raised his wand, when the compartment door slid open again. The toad less boy was back, but this time he had a girl with him. She was already wearing her new Hogwarts robes.

"Has anyone seen a toad? Neville's lost one" She said. She had a bossy sort of voice, lots of bushy brown hair and rather large front teeth.

"We've already told him we haven't seen it" Ron said, but the girl wasn't listening, she was looking at the wand in Ron's hand.

"Oh, are you doing magic? Let's see it then" She sat down next to Artemis. Ron looked taken back.

"Er…all right, Sunshine, daisies, butter mellow, turn this stupid fat rat yellow" He waved his wand, but nothing happened. Scabbers stayed grey and fast asleep.

"Are you sure that's a real spell?" said the girl. "Well, it's not very good, is it? I've tried a few simple spells just for practice and it's all worked for me. Nobody in my family's magic at all, it was ever such a surprise when I got my letter, but I was ever so pleased, of course, I mean, it's the very best school of witchcraft there is, I've heard - I've learned all our course books by heart, of course, I just hope it will be enough - I'm Hermione Granger, by the way, who are you." She said this all very fast. The three students all looked stunned; Artemis was the first to react.

"I'm Artemis Lupin; did you know you've already broken a wizarding law?" Artemis asked sweetly.

"I haven't broken the law!" The girl said as she glared at Artemis, outraged at the audacity that Artemis had to say such a thing.

"Yes you have. You're not allowed to use magic outside of Hogwarts, when you under the age of seventeen, which is why I haven't learnt any magic or any of us have" She said with a small smirk on her face. Hermione huffed and looked over at Harry and Ron.

"I'm Ron Weasley" Ron muttered.

"Harry Potter" Harry said.

"Are you really?" said Hermione. "I know all about you, of course…I got a few extra books, for background reading and you're in Modern Magical History and The Rise and Fall of the Dark Arts and Great Wizarding Events of the Twentieth Century"

"Am I?" Harry said feeling dazed.

"There all lies" Artemis muttered from behind her book, which she had picked up again.

"No there not, there in books, factual books" Hermione said.

"Really, you actually believe that? Harry was one when the attack happened, he was the only survivor and the only one there and do you really believe a one year old could tell people what happened? Harry have you ever given an interview on your parent's death?" Artemis asked. Harry shook his head. "See" Artemis added. Hermione glared at her.

"Anyway, didn't you know that?" Hermione said, talking at Harry again. "I'd have found out everything if it were me" She said. Artemis raised her eyebrows; Hermione said it in such a way it made it seem like she was telling Harry off for not researching himself in the book shops "Do you know what house you'll be in? I've been asking around and I hope I'm in Gryffindor, it sounds by far the best; I hear Dumbledore, himself was in it, but I suppose Ravenclaw wouldn't be too bad"

"I'm going for Ravenclaw" Artemis said.

"Gryffindor, the whole family's been in it" Ron said. Harry shrugged.

"Anyway, we'd better go and look for Neville's toad. You too had better change, you know. I expect we'll be there soon" And she left, taking the toad less boy with her. Artemis sighed with relief.

"Whatever house, I'm in I hope she's not in it" Ron said, as he put his wand back in his pocket. "Stupid spell, knew it was a dud" He muttered "What's your Quidditch team?" Ron asked.

"Holyhead Harpies" Artemis said with a smile. Ron groaned.

"My sister likes them" He said.

"Er - I don't know any," Harry confessed.

"What!" Ron looked dumbfounded. "Oh, you wait, it's the best game in the world -" And he was off, explaining all about the four balls and the positions of the seven players, describing famous games he'd been to with his brothers and the broomstick he'd like to get if he had the money. He was just taking Harry through the finer points of the game when the compartment door slid open yet again, but it wasn't Neville the toadless boy or Hermione Granger this time. Three boys entered and Harry recognised the middle at once: It was the pale boy from one of the shops, when Harry was in Diagon Alley. He was looking at Harry with a lot more interest this time.

"Is it true?" He asked. "They're saying all down the train that Harry Potter's in this compartment, it's you isn't it?"

"Yes" Harry said. He was looking at the other boys; both of them were thickset and looked extremely mean. Standing on either side of the pale boy, they looked like bodyguards.

"Oh, this is Crabbe and this is Goyle" said the pale boy carelessly noticing where Harry was looking. "And my name is Malfoy, Draco Malfoy." Ron gave a slight cough, while Artemis smirked a little behind her book. Draco Malfoy looked at Ron.

"Think my name's funny, do you? No need to ask who you are. My father told me all the Weasley's have red hair, freckles, and more children than they can afford."

He turned back to Harry. "You'll soon find out some wizarding families are much better than others, Potter. You don't want to go making friends with the wrong sort. I can help you there. You don't need to hang around with blood traitors and half-"

"Shut up Draco" She hissed.

"Don't your friends know about your pathetic father's illness? Are you ashamed Lupin?" Malfoy snarled. "So Potter, what do you say?" Malfoy said looking at Harry.

"I think I can tell you are the wrong sort for myself, thanks" He said coolly. "I'd be careful if I were you, Potter, unless you're a bit politer you'll go the same way as your parents. They didn't know what was good for them either. You hang around with riffraff like the Weasley's and the half-breeds it'll rub off on you." Both Harry and Ron stood up, but Draco could say nothing else as Artemis pulled back her fist and punched Draco in the eye.

"Go to hell Draco, it's the only place you belong" She snarled before looking at his bodyguards. "What are you gonna fight me and what will you father's say when they found out you left Draco on the floor?" She asked. Crabbe and Goyle looked at each other before picking up Draco and carrying him off. Artemis sat back down and put her head in her hands.

"Nice one Arty" Ron said. Artemis looked up and smiled.

"Thanks"

"What did he mean, Artemis, Half-breed?" Harry asked. "What wrong with your father?" He asked.

"My father's ill, every full moon. He's a werewolf. Please don't tell anyone, it's bad enough Draco knowing. Oh I shouldn't have punched him! Dad's going to flip" She said. Harry moved over to her and pulled her in for a hug, like she did before.

"It's okay, Artemis, we'll keep quiet. Won't we Ron" Harry said looking over at Ron.

"Sure" Ron said. Artemis smiled,

"Thanks" She said as she wiped her eyes. She took a deep breath and froze a little as she heard footsteps, luckily or unluckily, it was only Hermione Granger. "

"What's been going on?" She asked, looking at Artemis. "I just saw one of the other boys carrying a blonde boy with a black eye forming, he was coming from this compartment, Have you been fighting? You'll be in trouble before we even get there!" She said.

"It's none of your business, Granger, now if you don't mind we need change. Artemis, can you go out to?" He asked. Artemis grabbed her bag and got up.

"See ya in a bit" She said before walking out.


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter Two:**

Artemis shivered as she stepped off the Hogwarts Express and onto a tiny, dark platform. She looked around trying to find her two friends, Harry and Ron. Everyone was pushing and shoving and Artemis found herself being pushed towards a lamp. She looked up and in the glow of the light, she was tall, large man with a big beard.

"Firs' years! Firs' years over here! All right there, Harry?" The man yelled. Artemis looked over and sighed a sigh of relief as she saw Harry. She slid over to him and tugged on his arm.

"Hi" She said. Harry turned towards her and smiled.

"C'mon, follow me…any more firs' years? Mind yer step, now! Firs' years follow me!" Hagrid shouted over the chatter of students. Stumbling and slipping, they followed Hagrid down what seemed to be a steep, narrow path. The chatter had faded away as they left the rest of the students and silence took over, the only sound was a few sniffs from Neville, the boy who kept losing his toad. "Ye' all get yer firs' sight o' Hogwarts in a sec" Hagrid called over his shoulder "jus' round this bend here"

There was a loud "Oooooh!" The narrow path had opened suddenly onto the edge of a great black lake. Perched atop a high mountain on the other side, its windows sparkling in the starry sky, was a vast castle with many turrets and towers.

"Dad said there's a Giant Squid in the lake. Its man eating" Artemis whispered to Harry and Ron, who had found them again. Harry snorted and Ron went pale as Hagrid was helping people into boats.

"No more'n four to a boat" Hagrid called. Harry, Ron and Artemis got into a boat, along with Hermione, who had abandoned Neville somewhere. "Everyone in?" shouted Hagrid, he had a boat to himself. "Right then…FORWARD"

And the fleet of little boats moved off all at once, gliding across the lake, which was as smooth as glass. Everyone was silent, staring up at the great castle overhead. It towered over them as they sailed nearer and nearer, to the cliff on which it stood.

"Heads down!" yelled Hagrid as the first boats reached the cliff; they all bent their heads and the little boats carried them through a curtain of ivy that hid a wide opening in the cliff face. They were carried along a dark tunnel, which seemed to be taking them right underneath the castle, until they reached a kind of underground harbour. They all clambered out of the boats onto rocks and pebbles. "Oy, you there! Is this your toad?" Hagrid asked who was checking the boats as people climbed out of them.

"Trevor!" Neville cried, blissfully holding his hands out. Then they clambered up a passageway in the rock after Hagrid lamp, coming out at last onto a smooth, damp grass right in the shadows of the castle. They walked up a flight of stone steps and crowded around the huge Oak front door.

"Everyone here? You there, still got yer toad?" Hagrid raised a gigantic fist and knocked three times on the castle door.

The door swung open at once. A tall, black-haired witch in emerald-green robes stood there. She had a very stern face; this was someone you didn't want to cross.

"The firs' years, Professor McGonagall" said Hagrid.

"Thank you, Hagrid. I will take them from here." Professor McGonagall pulled the door wide. The entrance hall was so big you could have fit the whole of the Dursley's house in it. The stone walls were lit with flaming torches; the wall crept up and disappeared into a sea of darkness. There was a magnificent marble staircase facing them, which lead to the upper floors.

The followed Professor McGonagall across the flagged stone floor, they could hear the drone of hundreds of voices from a doorway to the right, the rest of the school must be here, but Professor McGonagall showed the first years into a small, empty chamber off the hall. They crowded in; standing rather close together than they would have usually done, peering around nervously.

"Welcome to Hogwarts" Professor McGonagall said. "The start-of-term banquet will begin shortly, but before you take your seats in the Great Hall, you will be sorted into your houses. The Sorting is a very important ceremony because your house is like your family; you will live with your classmates, sleep with them in the house dormitory and spend free time with then in your house common room. You may not like some or you may like all of them, but these are people who are doing the exact same thing as you, going to school, learning. Not only in lessons but about themselves as a person, respect them for it.

The four houses are called Gryffindor, Hufflepuff, Ravenclaw and Slytherin. Each House has its only noble history and each has produced outstanding witches and wizards. While you are at Hogwarts, there are consequences for your actions, some good and some bad. Your triumphs will earn your house points, while any rule breaking will lose your house points. At the end of the year, the house with the most points will win the house cup, a great honour. I hope each of you will be a credit to whichever house becomes yours." She paused for a moment looking around at the impression she had hopefully made on these young children. "The Sorting Ceremony will take place in a few minutes in front of the rest of the school. I suggest you all smarten yourselves up as much as you can while you are waiting" Her eyes lingered for a moment on Neville's cloak, which was fastened under his left ear, and on Ron's smudged nose. Harry nervously tried to flatten his hair down.

"I shall return for you when we are ready" Professor McGonagall said. She left the chamber.

"How exactly do they sort us into houses?" Harry asked. Artemis smirked.

"Some sort of test, I think. Fred said it hurts a lot, but I think he was joking" Ron answered.

"Yep, Father said we have to battle a troll" Artemis added. "Don't worry no one's died yet" She smirked as Harry's face went pale. He looked around, and saw that everyone looked really nervous, only Hermione Granger was talking, she was whispering very fast about all the spells she'd learned and wondering which one she'd need. "Harry! We're kidding, well I am. No one knows how we get sorted. It's tradition apparently" She said. Harry's face slowly turned back to normal colour.

"I knew that" He muttered. There was a few more moments of silence before Professor McGonagall came back.

"Form a line" She ordered and the first years pushed their way into a straight line. "Follow me" The first years followed her out of the chamber, back across the hall and through a pair of double doors into the Great Hall. Artemis, Harry and Ron looked around in amazement, sure Artemis and Ron had been told stories about how wonderful the hall was, but it was incredible. The room was lit with thousands of floating candles. There were four long tables; they were laid with glittering golden plates and goblets. At the top of the table on a small platform, there was another long table, where the teachers were sitting. Professor McGonagall led the first years up here, so that they came to a halt in front of the small platform. Dotted about the room, here and there, among the students, there were ghosts shining a misty sliver. Harry looked upwards and saw a velvety black ceiling dotted with stars.

"It's bewitched to look like the sky outside. I read about it in Hogwarts, A History." Hermione whispered.

Professor McGonagall placed a four-legged stool in front of the first years. On top of the stool she put a pointed wizard's hat. This hat was patched a frayed and extremely dirty. The hat twitched, a rip near the brim opened wide like a mouth and then the hat started to sing.

The whole hall burst into applause as the hat finished its song. It took a bowed to each of the four tables.

"So we've got to try on the hat!" Ron whispered. "I'll kill Fred" He added. Artemis smiled as she remembers all of the stories that her father made up to keep the truth from her about the sorting, and all for a bloody hat.

"When I call your name, you will put on the hat and sit on the stool to be sorted," She said. "Abbott Hannah" A pink-faced girl with blonde pigtails stumbled out of line, put on the hat, which fell right down over her eyes, and sat down. A moment's pause –

"HUFFLEPUFF!" shouted the hat. The table on the right cheered and clapped as Hannah went to sit down at the Hufflepuff table. Harry saw the ghost of the Fat Friar waving merrily at her.

"Bones, Susan!"

"HUFFLEPUFF!" shouted the hat again, and Susan scuttled off to sit next to Hannah.

"Boot, Terry!"

"RAVENCLAW!" The table second from the left clapped this time; several Ravenclaw's stood up to shake hands with Terry as he joined them. "Brocklehurst, Mandy" went to Ravenclaw too, but "Brown, Lavender" became the first new Gryffindor, and the table on the far left exploded with cheers; Harry could see Ron's twin brothers catcalling. "Bulstrode, Millicent" then became a Slytherin.

"Finch-Fletchley, Justin!"

"HUFFLEPUFF!" Sometimes, Harry noticed, the hat shouted out the house at once, but at others it took a little while to decide. "Finnigan, Seamus," the sandy-haired boy next to Harry in the line, sat on the stool for almost a whole minute before the hat declared him a Gryffindor.

"Granger, Hermione!" Hermione almost ran to the stool and jammed the hat eagerly on her head.

"GRYFFINDOR!" shouted the hat. Ron groaned.

When Neville Longbottom, the boy who kept losing his toad, was called, he fell over on his way to the stool. The hat took a long time to decide with Neville. When it finally shouted, "GRYFFINDOR," Neville ran off still wearing it, and had to jog back amid gales of laughter to give it to Artemis Lupin who had been called next. She walked up to the stool feeling nervous. She sat down and felt the hat being placed on her head.

_Don't be nervous. _The hat whispered in her ear. _No one can hear me, but you. You're a good Hufflepuff, loyal, friendly, but Bravery strikes forward. Standing up for people as they stood up for your father, not afraid to stand up to other people, Maybe Gryffindor would be the place for you...Yes. yes I see it now, well it better be….GRYFFINDOR" _The hat suddenly yelled and Artemis felt like dancing, the victory dance. She had got into Gryffindor her father's house. She took off the hat and ran down to join her new house. She shook a lot of people's hands and said a lot of hello's before she settled down in her seat, next to Hermione. They watched as more and more first years got sorted until…

"Harry Potter" Whispers broke out, like little hissing fires all over the hall.

"Potter, did she say?"

"The Harry Potter"

"The Boy-Who-Lived?"

Harry stared at the blackness of the inside of the hat. He waited. _Hmmm…Difficult…very difficult. _The sorting house voice said. _Plenty of courage, I see. Not a bad mind either. There's talent, oh my goodness, and a nice thirst to prove yourself, now that's interesting…So where to put you. _The hat asked. Harry repeated over in his mind, Not Slytherin. Not Slytherin. _Not Slytherin, eh? Are you sure? You could be great you know, it's all here in your head and Slytherin will help you on the way to greatness there's no doubt about that…no? Well if you're sure…better be GRYFFINDOR. _

The hat shouted the last world to the whole hall. Harry took of the hat and walked shakily to the Gryffindor table. He was so glad to be chosen and not be put in Slytherin. He sat down in front of Artemis smiling happily.

"Well Done" She said, but Harry couldn't hear her as she was drowned out by two red-heads singing.

"We've got Potter! We've got Potter!" Harry and Artemis turned towards the hat, when finally it was Ronald Weasley's turn. Artemis and Harry crossed their fingers under the table. It seemed the power of luck was on their side as soon Ron joined them at the Gryffindor Table.


	3. Chapter 3

**Chapter Three:**

"There, look."

"Where?"

"Next to the tall kid with the red hair, and the girl with the light brown hair"

"Wearing the glasses?"

"Did you see his face?"

"Did you see his _scar_?"

Whispers followed Harry from the moment he joined Ron and Artemis in the common room, the next day. People lined up outside classrooms stood on tiptoe to get a look at him or doubled back to pass him in the corridors again, staring. Harry wished they wouldn't, because he was trying to concentrate on finding his way to classes.

There were a hundred and forty-two staircases at Hogwarts: wide, sweeping ones; narrow, rickety ones; some that led somewhere different on a Friday; some with a vanishing step halfway up that you had to remember to jump. Then there were doors that wouldn't open unless you asked politely, or tickled them in exactly the right place, and doors that weren't really doors at all, but solid walls just pretending. It was also very hard to remember where anything was, because it all seemed to move around a lot. The people in the portraits kept going to visit each other, and Harry was sure the coats of armour could walk.

The ghosts didn't help, either. It was always a nasty shock when one of them glided suddenly through a door you were trying to open. Nearly Headless Nick was always happy to point new Gryffindor's in the right direction, but Peeves the Poltergeist was worth two locked doors and a trick staircase if you met him when you were late for class. He would drop wastepaper baskets on your head, pull rugs from under your feet, pelt you with bits of chalk, or sneak up behind you, invisible, grab your nose, and screech, "GOT YOUR CONK!"

And then, once you had managed to find them, there were the classes themselves. There was a lot more to magic, as Harry quickly found out, than waving your wand and saying a few funny words. They had to study the night skies through their telescopes every Wednesday at midnight and learn the names of different stars and the movements of the planets. Three times a week they went out to the greenhouses behind the castle to study Herbology, with a dumpy little witch called Professor Sprout, where they learned how to take care of all the strange plants and fungi, and found out what they were used for.

"That was boring" Artemis said. Ron and Harry nodded in agreement as they walked out of the History of magic classroom. The lesson was taught by a ghost and although Artemis had been warned for the sheer boringness of the lesson, she was taken aback by how little anyone did in the class or how easy it was to fall asleep. Their next teacher was Professor Flitwick, who taught charms. He was a tiny little wizard who had to stand on a pile of books to see over his desk. At the start of their first class he took the roll call, and when he reached Harry's name he gave an excited squeak and toppled out of sight.

Professor McGonagall was different. Harry had been quite right to think she wasn't a teacher to cross. Strict and clever, she gave them a talking-to the moment they sat down in her first class.

"Transfiguration is some of the most complex and dangerous magic you will learn at Hogwarts," she said. "Anyone messing around in my class will leave and not come back. You have been warned."

Then she changed her desk into a pig and back again. They were all very impressed and couldn't wait to get started, but soon realized they weren't going to be changing the furniture into animals for a long time. After taking a lot of complicated notes, they were each given a match and started trying to turn it into a needle. By the end of the lesson, only Hermione Granger had made any difference to her match; Professor McGonagall showed the class how it had gone all silver and pointy and gave Hermione a rare smile. Artemis stuck her tongue out at Hermione after McGonagall had turned away, because her match was still a match, it hadn't even gone a little bit pointy or slivery.

Friday was a good day, according to Harry, Ron and Artemis; they had finally managed to find their way down to the Great Hall without getting lost. Artemis noted it down so she could tell her father this, thinking it was an important update on her life at Hogwarts.

"What have we got today?" Harry asked, as he poured sugar onto his porridge.

"Double potions with the Slytherin's" Ron said. "Snape's head of Slytherin House, everyone says he always favours them…we'll be able to see if that's true"

"Wish McGonagall favoured us," Harry said. Artemis snorted.

"Favouritism is pointless, loads of people hate Slytherin's and Snape isn't doing any favours." Artemis said. Just then, the mail arrived. Artemis smiled as her pet owl; Chipper flew down with a letter, alongside her was Hedwig, Harry's snowy white owl. "I think they like each other" Artemis said. "They might have little owlets" She added. Harry's eyes widened as Artemis spoke. He turned back to Hedwig, and took the letter from her. He tore it open at once. It said, in a very untidy scrawl:

_Dear Harry, _

_I know you get Friday afternoons off, so would you like to come and have a cup of tea with me around three? I want to hear all about your first week. Send us an answer back with Hedwig. _

_Hagrid _

Harry borrowed Ron's quill and scribble yes, Please, see you later on the back of the note and sent Hedwig off again. They finished breakfast and set off to find the Potions classroom. The Potion's lessons took place down in one of the dungeons. It was colder here than up in the main castle and would have been quite creepy enough without the pickled animal floating in glass jars all around the walls. Snape, like Flitwick, started the class by taking the roll call.

"Artemis Lupin" He said his lip forming into small scowl as he said her name. Artemis stared at him, answering back with a clear

"Yes, Sir" Snape looked up and they locked eyes for a moment. Artemis was determined not to let him get to her. He looked down and carried on, only pausing when he got to Harry's name.

"Ah, Yes" He said softly, "Harry Potter. Our new…celebrity"

Across the class, Draco Malfoy and his gang sniggered behind their hands. Snape finished calling the names and looked up at the class. His eyes were black like Hagrid's, but they had none of Hagrid's warmth. They were cold and empty and made you think of dark tunnels.

"You are here to learn the subtle science and exact art of potion-making," he began. He spoke in barely more than a whisper, but they caught every word - like Professor McGonagall, Snape had y caught every word - like Professor McGonagall, Snape had the gift of keeping a class silent without effort. "As there is little foolish wand-waving here, many of you will hardly believe this is magic. I don't expect you will really understand the beauty of the softly simmering cauldron with its shimmering fumes, the delicate power of liquids that creep through human veins, bewitching the mind, ensnaring the senses... I can teach you how to bottle fame, brew glory, and even stopper death - if you aren't as big a bunch of dunderheads as I usually have to teach."

More silence followed this little speech. Harry, Ron and Artemis exchanged looks with raised eyebrows. Hermione Granger was on the edge of her seat, looking desperate to start proving that she wasn't a dunderhead.

"Potter!" Snape said suddenly. "What would I get if I added powdered root of asphodel to an infusion or wormwood?" Powdered root of what to an infusion of what? Harry glances at his friends, Ron looked as stumped as he was, but Artemis looked calm, but her eyes were burning into Snape with rage. Hermione's hand shot into the air.

"I don't know, sir" Harry said. Snape's lips curled into a sneer.

"Tut, tut…fame clearly isn't everything." He said, ignoring Hermione's hand. "Let's try again. Potter, where would I look if I told you to find me a bezoar?"

Hermione stretched her hand as far as it would go, without her leaving her seat, but Harry didn't have the faintest idea what a bezoar was.

"I don't know, sir" Harry said again, looking down at the table.

"Thought you wouldn't open a book before coming, eh Potter?" Snape said. Harry forced himself to look up, staring into those cold eyes. Did Snape expect him to know everything?

"What is the difference between monkshood and wolfsbane?" He asked. At this point, Hermione stood up, her hand stretching towards the dungeon ceiling.

"I don't know" Harry said quietly. "I think Hermione does, though, why don't you try her?" He added. A few people laughed, but Snape however was not pleased.

"Sit down" He snapped at Hermione. He walked over to Harry, "For your information, Potter, asphodel and wormwood make a sleeping potion so powerful it is known as the Draught of Living Death. A bezoar is a stone taken from the stomach of a goat and it will save you from most poisons. As for monkshood and wolfsbane, they are the same plant, which also goes by the name of aconite. Well? Why aren't you all copying that down?"

"You're pathetic Snape" Artemis said quietly as she started to write down the questions and answers. Over the noise of the rummaging for quills and parchment, Snape said.

"Five points will be taken from Gryffindor for your cheek Potter and an extra five of that comment Lupin" He said. Things didn't improve for the Gryffindor's as the Potions lesson continued. Snape put them all into pairs; he unfortunately placed Hermione and Artemis together. Artemis had always studied Potions the most. She didn't want to get into more trouble with Snape. But as she worked with Hermione, they clashed a lot. Artemis liked Potions; she liked creating things and editing things. The cure for boils was one potion her father had let her brew and she edited some instructions to help her. But Hermione was adamant that they followed the instructions to the exact mark.

"But Hermione, if you just listen to…" Artemis said.

"No! The instructions said quite clearly that you add nine quills not eight" Hermione said shoving the book into Artemis' face. Artemis scowled and put nine quills in the cauldron. Snape swept around in his long black cloak, watching them weigh dried nettles and crush snake fangs, criticizing almost everyone except Malfoy, whom he seemed to like. He was just telling everyone to look at the perfect way Malfoy had stewed his horned slugs when clouds of acid green smoke and a loud hissing filled the dungeon. Neville had somehow managed to melt Seamus's cauldron into a twisted blob, and their potion was seeping across the stone floor, burning holes in people's shoes. Within seconds, the whole class was standing on their stools while Neville, who had been drenched in the potion when the cauldron collapsed, moaned in pain as angry red boils sprang up all over his arms and legs.

"Idiot boy!" snarled Snape, clearing the spilled potion away with one wave of his wand. "I suppose you added the porcupine quills before taking the cauldron off the fire?" Neville whimpered as boils started to pop up all over his nose. "Take him up to the hospital wing," Snape spat at Seamus. Then he rounded on Harry and Ron, who had been working next to Neville.

"You…Potter…why did you tell him not to add the quills? Thought he'd make you look good if he got it wrong, did you?" That's another point you've lost for Gryffindor". That was unfair, Harry opened his mouth to argue, but Ron kicked him behind the cauldron.

"Don't push it" He muttered, but someone suddenly smacked there foot on the floor.

"What is your problem Professor Snape?" You've done nothing but belittle and be spiteful to Harry all potions lesson; it wasn't his fault Neville didn't read the instructions. You're pathetic Professor Snape and I for one am not going to stay here while you act like a three year old" Artemis said standing up. She didn't bother looking at Snape's face or anyone else, she grabbed her books and walked out of the classroom.

As Harry and Ron climbed the steps out of the dungeon an hour later, Harry's mind was racing and his spirits were low. He'd lost two points for Gryffindor in his very first week.

"Cheer up" said Ron. "Come on, let's go find Artemis. Can we come and meet Hagrid with you?" Ron asked. Harry nodded and the pair of them walked off, looking around the school. They were standing at the bottom of the stairs that went up to the girl's dorm, when Hermione came up to them.

"Have you seen Artemis?" Ron asked. "Or can you check the girl's dorm?" He added.

"Oh, she's in the Library, it was jolly silly of her to go off like that and to walk out the lesson, she should know better. She was awful when we had to make the boils cure, always wanting to change things" Hermione said. Ron and Harry nodded and took off, trying to get to the library. They walked inside and found Artemis looking in a book.

"You alright?" Harry asked.

"Yeah" She said, wiping her eyes quickly. "Just…I knew he was going to be unfair to us, but when he accused you and Hermione didn't help" She said.

"What happened with Hermione? She said you tried to change things?" Ron asked.

"Yeah, I've always liked Potions, y'know making things. I've made the boil cure potion loads and I've always tweaked things to see what happens, I know how to make it the best, but Hermione doesn't listen, she's a rule sticker" Artemis explained. "Anyway I was so annoyed with her, I lost it with Snape. I'm going to McGonagall, do you want to come?" She asked as she closed the book. Harry and Ron nodded and they walked along to McGonagall's office. Artemis knocked on the door,

"Enter" said the strict voice of McGonagall. Artemis, Harry and Ron entered.

"Professor, I want to complain about a Professor, two actually" She said. Professor McGonagall sighed.

"Who is it?" She asked.

"Professor Binn's and Snape" She said, looking McGonagall dead in the eye. "Professor Binns is a ghost, Professor. He can't teach anymore, he's boring us all to death" She said. "Snape…"

"Professor Snape" McGonagall reprimanded.

"I call him that, when he acts like a Professor. He was pathetic in our Potions class. He started to quiz Harry, but when he didn't know the answer he made a remark about his fame and how he hadn't opened a book since he got them. But the questions were higher level that Harry should know. He was completely favouring the Slytherin's, Criticizing any Gryffindor Potion" Artemis took a breath.

"When Neville's potions went bad and exploded, he blamed it all on Harry, because apparently Harry wants his to be the best. I admit, I was wrong to, I got angry and walked out and I'm not going back" She said determined. McGonagall took off her glasses and sighed. There was so many of her students coming into her office complaining about Snape's behaviour and Binn's lack of life.

"Miss Lupin, How will you pass your OWL's if you don't do potions?" She asked.

"I'll self-study. It's Hogwarts rule, that if a student finds a teacher inadequate or unfair, he or she can request to have a tutor" Artemis said.

"I'll talk to the Headmaster, but there is little we can do" McGonagall said. Artemis glared at her.

"Little you can do! Fire the man! Professor, Snape is still living on a school's boy's grunge over a man who's been dead for a decade and is belittling his son because of it. He is completely unprofessional!" Artemis snapped. "I'm sorry Professor. It makes me angry that a man like him, a talented man could be so pathetic. I pity him" She said before turning away and walking out.


End file.
